In July of 1997, we appointed Dr. Brian Schmidt to this institutional DSA, a dentist-physician who will complete his PhD studies in oral biology in combination with specialty training in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS). Dr. Schmidt received his BS in biochemistry at UC-Davis in 1988, and then proceeded on to dental school, receiving his DDS from UCSF in 1992. During his tenure in the DDS program, he also was admitted concurrently to the PhD program in oral biology. Upon graduation from dental school, he went on leave from the PhD program in order to enter medical school and the oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) training program. He received the MD in 1996, and has been devoting his efforts in the DSA program to completing his PhD in oral biology and his OMFS. During his first year in the DSA program, he focused mainly on his clinical residency with some time set aside to explore research areas in the oral biology Program and to take advanced graduate courses in the structure of macromolecules, biological regulatory mechanisms, and cell and developmental biology. Having completed the necessary course work, in his second year in the DSA program he has served as chief resident for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, as well spending one to two days per week in the laboratory. We anticipate he will take his PhD qualifying examination during me 1999-2000 academic year, after which he will continue his dissertation research in the area of pain mechanisms in the laboratory of Dr. Jon Levine.